Assist
by OrigamiPrayers
Summary: An AkuRoku oneshot. Alternate Universe. “Why are we doing this?” His breathing was soft, but it felt as though it was labored, hard for him to do this, say this, but his fingers tangled in deeper. For AkuRoku Day.


The echoing sound of lockers closing and the squeak of sneakers tried to drown out the conversations going on in the dimly lit locker room. Soccer practice had ended early, and with an announcement that hadn't settled well with most of the team. Coach Diz brought the group together and said that Roxas, the youngest member of the team, was going to be dropped from the team. Most of the team didn't like this, more because Roxas was good rather than the fact that they liked him.

Axel, on the other hand, was furious for his own reasons, especially when the blond said nothing of his departure, no fighting back, nothing. It was as though he had accepted it, and that pissed him off to no end. From the moment they had met, Roxas had been a fighter. The team was older, refined, and they didn't feel like accepting anyone, but the kid had grown on everyone, whether with talent, determination, or heart.

In the locker room, Roxas had been ignored, even picked on and mocked. He stayed strong though, never even mentioning quitting. He earned respect slowly, and sealed the deal when he scored a winning goal at one of their more difficult match against Destiny Island's team. From that point on, Roxas was one of them, and no one was going to change that now. He was number thirteen from that point on.

To be honest, he was one of the last people on earth Axel expected to consider himself close to. He had been one of the first people against Roxas when he showed up. He'd been the one to steal the kid's sneakers, to write "Freshman Meat" on him during his third practice. There'd be more than one fight on the field and in the locker room between the two of them, and even Axel had to admit the kid had been tough, fierce, and never backed down.

And that's why watching him sit there, silent about his own removal from the team, left him wondering what the hell was going on in the kid's head. Some hit the showers, Demyx was talking about something or other with Xigbar, and Roxas, he just went to change, apparently trying to get out as quickly as possible. Axel wasn't going to let that happen. He'd been halfway through changing, jeans and sneakers on, just about to put on his shirt when he decided he couldn't take this anymore, walking over to the other teen.

With a slam, he closed Roxas' locker. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Leaving. I'm done here. It'd be best to make it as painless as possible." It was his reply, calm and almost emotionless. If he thought that would detour Axel, he should have known better. The red head didn't move his hand, keeping the locker closed tight. Roxas crossed his arm. "Let me get dressed."

"Fuck no, Roxas. Not until you explain to me what the hell happened to knock the fight out of you. Why you're so…ready to lie down and die right here!" He was raising his voice to the point all the team could hear, several of the members looking over at him and staring. He didn't care. He wanted to know why there were ready to let Roxas go like this, to let their team just get side-swiped like it didn't matter.

The blond was still stubborn, at least, crossing his arms and looking up at Axel with an annoyed expression. "I can stand here all day, and you know it."

The challenge was set then, both of them not moving, not even as the rest of the team headed out. Even Demyx, who spent at least twenty minutes adjusting his hair before he would event think of leaving the locker room, had been gone. They had remained silent, Axel's hand still on the locker, Roxas still standing there in his jersey and shorts.

Finally, Roxas spoke up, not moving, but his tone said he was getting fed up. "Axel…there's got to more to this than just you being worried about the championship. I mean, this happens to schools and teams all the-"

"But not our team, Roxas." He replied quickly, spitting the words out like they had been building since before the announcement. "And he didn't even give a good reason for it!" Sighing, he dropped his hand, leaning against the locker next to the younger male's, watching him carefully.

The blond pulled off his shirt, revealing the lithe, toned body built by many practices. Axel swallowed a bit louder than he intended to. He hadn't wanted this to come into the argument, into the friendship that he had with Roxas. There was an attraction, a pretty damn strong one if his dreams had anything to do with it. It was one of the reasons that he wanted the freshman to stay on the team, they spent at least an hour a day hanging out for practice, or spending time hanging out after a game, grabbing something to eat…

All that would change if he left for good.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, feeling the sweat and gel mingling as he tried to get the thoughts in his head clear, to make a solid argument. "Roxas, we can talk with the coach, we can get this-"

"Coach told me in advance…he told me that the skilled kid from Destiny Island…Sora? He's getting transferred here…he wants him on the team, and he needs my spot. He told me that I'm an "expendable tool" and I should be proud to have helped us so far." Pulling down his shorts, Roxas sighed, leaning his head against the lockers. "This team means everything to me, it's where all my friends are…but if I really care about them and this team, I'll let Sora take my place."

His breath caught, first from the sight of that body in nothing but black boxers, the typical hormone driven reaction. Sure, they'd seen each other like this before, but with all the tension, all of his self control was being shot to hell, and he found himself paying more attention to things, to Roxas. His chest hurt, listening to the younger male speak. He'd thought that their number thirteen was taking the easy route, giving up…but no, he was taking one for the team.

Closing his eyes, he slid down against the lockers, sitting cross legged on the cold and dirty floor. "That's not true…no one can replace you Roxas, no one. Not some punk kid from another school. You're number thirteen. We worked together to get that man-to-man defensive strategy together." He sighed audibly, looking up at the kid, taking in everything about him he could, the color of his eyes in the dim light, the way the waistband on his boxers was twisted slightly on the side, anything he could keep in his head. "It won't be the same."

Roxas shut his locker, sitting on the bench between the sets of lockers, looking him on the floor. It was weird, to see the shorter male looking down at him. "We'll still hang out, Axel. I'll come to all the games; we can celebrate when you guys make it to state…" He sighed as well, apparently just as concerned about this as Axel was as he raised a hand to run through his hair, but decided against it, letting it fall. "Never mind, we both know it won't be the same."

For a brief instant, Axel considered talking to coach, trying to change his mind, but he knew better. All he could do is look up and watch as Roxas lost everything, and he was helpless to stop it. "I'll quit too."

"Don't do that! Then our team will really be-"

"Fuck the team, Roxas, that isn't what I care about!"

His hands were clenched at his sides, the words being ripped out of his throat with the anger that he had the frustration. This wasn't his choice, he worked hard for this team and that didn't seem to matter at all. He was still going to lose him. They'd grow farther apart until there'd be nothing left of what they had, and he'd be dead inside.

Watching the blond carefully, he saw as he looked up, then, surprised by the outburst. The vibration was still echoing in the walls and the metal of the lockers, and by the looks of it, in the younger male's mind. He saw the boy's throat force a swallow as their eyes met, and Roxas stood up.

His attraction to the younger teen came back with a screeching halt, being nearly at crotch level with him. There was the defining bulge, the one that Axel had dreamed about far too much, and he was pissed that now of all times he could be so easily distracted by it. But as quickly as he has seen it, it had been there, it was gone.

It felt like slow motion, Roxas sliding into his lap, legs wrapping around him in as hands went to his face. Something about it all felt unreal, like some twisted fantasy that couldn't be possibly happening, but it was. All he could think about where how soft his fingers were, despite the fact he was a boy, and how his breath was on his face, warm and slightly smelling of mint.

As if by instinct, his own hands rose, moving to the smaller male's hips, bring them closer. Roxas' hands moving to his neck, brushing against the hair on the back of his neck made him shudder, made him desperate.

Roxas broke the silence. "Why are we doing this?" His breathing was soft, but it felt as though it was labored, hard for him to do this, say this, but his fingers tangled in deeper.

"Because it feels right."

At that, he couldn't take it anymore, crushing their mouths together with a deadly force. There was the shock of it all, Roxas gasping into their kiss as he took advantage, sliding his tongue into the slick heat. Groaning, he used his leverage of his hands to pull Roxas even closer, one hand sliding up the smaller male's back.

It didn't take long before the kissing grew longer, deeper, Roxas proving that he was just as much a team played in romance as he was on the field. He stepped back when he needed to, left openings in just the right places so Axel could swoop in and make the moves.

Both of them pulled back, gulping down air as though they were in the middle of game time, trying to catch their breath just to get back into their groove. Axel recovered first, moving to Roxas' neck, tongue swirling against the taste of sweat and skin. He shuddered as the smaller teen let a noise escape his lips, hands tangling deeper into his hair, spurring him along further.

He trailed his way down to his collarbone, tongue dipping into the indentation in ways that he could tell how much Roxas enjoyed it, hips bucking up against his deliciously, leaving them both being louder than they needed to, sounds and names and gasps echoing against the lockers.

Roxas pulled back slightly, fingers still tangled into red hair, Axel still feeling the pull of them. His breathing was heavy again, blue eyes hungry for more. It was all the permission he needed. Standing up, they kissed again, Roxas clinging to him, legs wrapping around him tighter as they moved towards the showers.

Roughly, he pushed the blond against the wall, mouths never parting, groans and moans caught between their mouths. Roxas moved his feet to the floor and Axel spent no time in moving down, removing the smaller male of his boxers, wrapping his hand around the boy's needy erection.

"Oh God, Axel…" His hips bucked, eyes closing as his head leaned back against the tiles. The sounds and words were spurring him further, his hand pumping as he felt hands on his jeans, pushing them and his boxers down in a desperate frenzy. He couldn't hold back the groan of satisfaction as his own erection was freed. Briefly, he pulled himself from Roxas, hearing the small whimper from the other male as he shucked off his clothing and shoes.

Again he kissed him, desperate and clingy, hand moving down to the younger male's erect cock, hand stroking, feeling his rapid pulse in his hand, the way Roxas arched his back, needy for more contact. His free hand moved, turning on the shower as water fell over them, sweat and gel and dirt were washing off of them as he continued his strokes.

Their mouths came together again, hotter than usual because of the cold water. As Roxas' hand came around his erection, he stroked the male faster in return; the slick tightness of the younger teen's hand nearly bringing him to the edge, both of them teetering along it. He could feel the pleasure riding higher, the moans and whimpers being drowned out by the water falling over them, slicking their bodies, heightening their pleasure.

A cry of his name, and Roxas came first, hot come spilling onto his hands and chest. The remnants were instantly washed away as he too felt the orgasm approaching, the grip on his cock tight and fast, Roxas looking up at him breathless from orgasm was too much and he closed his eyes, coming hard and fast as white sparks of pleasure burst onto his vision.

They both were panting, water still washing over them, Axel bracing against the wall as he looked down at Roxas. After he caught his breath, he shut off the water, still just watching the other male. They had been so caught up in the passion, the tension that had been between them for months, and now they were left with just the raw emotion. It was thick in the air.

Roxas watched him with careful blue eyes, his hair stuck to his head slightly, water dripping into his eyes. Slowly, Axel brought up a hand, brushing the bangs from the smaller male's face, smiling a bit. "So that brings a new light to the term "assist," hmm?"

The apprehensive look in the blond's eyes immediately changed, replaced with amusement, and he shoved Axel slightly. "You are terrible."

"That may be so…but this still doesn't solve the problem of you being off the team." He hated to bring them off their high, but unfortunately this event didn't stop what was happening to their team, all the time they wouldn't share anymore.

The smaller male looked down at that, then back up at Axel. "I know…but I'll still come to practice everyday, watch you play…I'm not going to let you out of my life that easy."

Smiling, he pulled Roxas closed, running a hand into his hair. "You think I wasn't going to stalk you and find out where you lived or something? You underestimate my stubbornness…" Pausing, he thought about something for a moment, a quick thought that just might fix everything. "Wait, didn't Demyx want to go back to being in band again? If that's the case…"

Pulling back a bit, the younger teen smirked. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Get Zexion to convince him that he has a thing for band geeks?" Axel replied, smirking as well.

"Score one for us." Was the other male's reply as he began to walk towards the lockers, Axel quickly catching up and slapping his "teammate" on the ass.

Yelping, Roxas blushed and looked up at him, the redhead just grinning down at him. "And now I can use all sorts of fun soccer terms to relate to sex! Like penetrating the defense, and two on one break and-"

"Just shut up and kiss me again," said the blond, smiling.

Axel was more than happy to oblige as he leaned down to kiss Roxas again. He was going to assist his teammate in oh so many ways now, most of which, weren't going to be on the field.

(A/N: Happy AkuRoku Day! Sorry it was posted late, I had some craziness trying to write something good enough for such an occasion. This is my first AU story, so I hope I did it well. It is a bit more cute than my usual work, and the ending is a bit cheesy…okay, really cheesy, but I feel like I angst up the boys enough!

This is also a piece that I worked on with my friend Undulea on DeviantArt. She drew a picture, and I wrote a story to go with it. She really is amazing, check her out and thanks for all the views! )


End file.
